Coe Volleyball

Coe tops No.8 team in NCAA tourney

ST. PAUL, Minn. - Rachel Schaefer collected 20 kills Thursday night as Coe upset eighth-ranked St. Thomas, 3-1, in the opening round of the NCAA Division III volleyball tournament in St. Paul, Minn.

St. Thomas won the first set on its home floor 25-21, but the Kohawks captured the next three games 25-16, 25-22 and 25-22.

Mackenzie Harbaugh had 39 assists for Coe. Alissa Wittenburg finished with 33 digs.

Brianna Smith had 14 kills, Harbaugh 10 kills and Meghan McClimon 10 kills. Wittenburg contributed 10 assists.

Olivia Glaudel had 10 digs. Rachel Bosworth pitched in with five kills and four blocks. Olivia Leisinger had four blocks.

Coe, making the second trip to the NCAA tournament in school history, raised its record to 29-8.

The Kohawks face Wisconsin-Stevens Point in the second round of the regional tournament Friday at 7 p.m. Cornell meets Northwestern (Minn.) at 4:30 p.m., and the winners will play for the regional title Saturday at 7 p.m.

The regional champion will advance to the quarterfinals of the national tournament in Newport News (Va.) next weekend.

2 Coe volleyball players honored by IIAC

Coe College volleyball players Alissa Wittenburg and Rachel Schaefer have been honored by the Iowa Conference.

Wittenburg, a senior from Readlyn, was named the Iowa Conference Female Athlete of the Week for her performance in the conference volleyball tournament. She collected 31 digs, eight assists and six aces as the Kohawks won the tournament and qualified for the NCAA playoffs for only the second time in school history.

Schaefer, a senior from Waterloo, was named the IIAC Volleyball Player of the Week for her work in the conference tournament. She finished with 22 kills, 14 digs, five blocks and four assists.

Coe visits St. Thomas in NCAA volleyball

The Coe College volleyball team will face St. Thomas in the first round of the NCAA tournament Thursday at 8 p.m. in St. Paul, Minn.

The Kohawks, winners of the Iowa Conference regular season and tournament titles, will face the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Tournament Champion Tommies.

St. Thomas, the host school, has won 21 of its last 23 matches, including five straight. The two teams have not met this season. The Tommies advanced to the third round of the 2013 NCAA championships and won the national title in 2012.

Coe is making its second trip to the NCAA tournament. The Kohawks' previous trip came in 2006 during Coach DeAnn Woodin's first year with the program. Coe dropped a heartbreaking 3-2 match to Capital, 30-26, 29-31, 39-41, 30-24, 17-15, in St. Louis.

The winner of the Coe-St. Thomas match will face the winner of the match between No. 7 Wisconsin-Stevens Point and No. 22 St. Benedict.

Cornell, No. 19 Augsburg, No. 13 Nebraska Wesleyan and Northwestern (Minn.) make up the other four teams at the eight-team regional. Tickets will be available for purchase at the door.

Kohawks capture title, earn NCAA bid

The Coe volleyball team won the Iowa Conference tournament Saturday night and half the squad took off for the locker room and their normal post-game meeting.

Not so fast, ladies.

The Kohawks had to be summoned back to the gym at Eby Fieldhouse to collect their tournament awards, pose for pictures and hug everyone in sight.

You'll have to forgive the Kohawks for not knowing how to act after sweeping Buena Vista, because this is the first time Coe has ever won the conference tournament.

"No one was telling us what to do," laughed senior Rachel Schaefer, the all-time kills leader at Coe. "I thought we'd go and talk first and then come up and get our hugs."

The Kohawks (28-8) earned the league's automatic berth in the NCAA Division III regional tournament that begins next week. This will be Coe's second trip to the NCAA tourney in school history.

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